> instead of being able to upgrade to a 8TB in a few years when the prices come down, I can just throw out my 3K Mac and buy a new one
Mac buyers fall into two groups: those who don't need that upgrade (most consumers) and those who can afford to spec it up at the beginning, cost be damned. That's what OP meant by "when the consumer can afford to."
> also enjoy gaming, which is still much better on Windows
100%. I don't think Apple has meaningfully contested this space.
I submit a third camp: some of us use a NAS or other networked storage solution because no laptop sanely provides the amount of storage we want or need, or don’t want all our data local.
Or something cloudy, though not necessarily iCloud Drive.
Mac buyers fall into two groups: those who don't need that upgrade (most consumers) and those who can afford to spec it up at the beginning, cost be damned. That's what OP meant by "when the consumer can afford to."
> also enjoy gaming, which is still much better on Windows
100%. I don't think Apple has meaningfully contested this space.